The Pain of Yesterday
by ExpelliarmusBitch
Summary: Jeremy Gilbert will never be the same. He witnessed the death of his parents, and the disappearance of his brother, and is left with his sister Elena. Will he ever be the same again, especially after an unexpected lust towards Damon shows?  REVIEW, PLEASE
1. Chapter 1

Jeremy got out of the shower, with only a towel around his waist to keep his privacy. He was at the boarding house since Elena had left on a trip with Bonnie and she bossed him into going there, because she was just too damn scared that some unknown vampire would bust in the house and kill him.  
>Of course, at the boarding house he was protected by Stefan and Damon, the two vampire brothers. Now Stefan was like Jeremy's older brother he never had, but Damon was just a dick.<p>

He kept walking to the room they had offered them, shivering as a soft wind brushed on his bare torso. Just as he was entering the room, another brush of air went by. And when he was finally in it, after locking up the door, he turned and started heading for the closet. But the sight of Damon sprowled upon his bed made him stop, and drop his towel out of surprise.

"What the Hell man?" Jeremy said, as he bent down to pick up his towel and then continued off to the closet to grab some clothes before he would embarrass himself again in front of the Greek God that was just laying there, staring at him.

"Oh, no don't be embarrassed! Everyone in Adam's sex has an Adam's Apple..." Damon said sarcastically, and that made Jeremy almost drop his towel just to land a punch on him. But he kept it at his waist and stopped to stare at Damon, not wanting to undress again in front of him. Damon kept his oblivious stare.

"Get out, I want to get dressed." Jeremy said, keeping his tone calm. Damon remained there staring at Jeremy.

"Why should I?"

"Because I want to get dressed you idiot!" Jeremy almost shouted. But Damon didn't budge. Jeremy closed his eyes and took a long breath. He then opened them to find a couple of wide, almost glowing eyes, staring at him. Damon had moved from the bed to where he was standing, and was so close he was violating Jeremy's personal space.

Now Jeremy tried to head for the door, he would find some other place without the crazy vampire stalking him. But it was impossible, if Damon wanted to stalk him, he would do it without difficulty. 

Jeremy realized Damon wasn't going to budge so he quickly dropped the towel and got into his Calvin Klein boxers, but wasn't fast enough because the vampire had already caught every single detail of Jeremy's penis.

After he got dressed and started to move forward to leave, Damon almost shouted out 5 words that made the blood pump all the way down to Jeremy's cock, "Nice ass, by the way."

Wait. What had just happened? Why was he hard? He wasn't supposed to have an erection, because of a _guy_! Because of _DAMON_!

Jeremy ignored the vampire's comment and kept walking away. He sat down on the living room couch and just stared at the fire burning through some wood in the fire place. But this was bad for him, this fire kept bringing back memories he would have wanted forgotten.

_He, Elena, and their late older brother Max were in the park. The grass was glistening because of the morning sprays of water. Rays of light were coming from the gaps between the branches of the trees that went as high as one could imagine. He was very young by then. He was playing on the swings when a huge looking boy came towards him, followed by two other boys. The one in the lead went behind him and pushed him, making the swings go faster. Jeremy held on to his swing, not wanting to let go. But swing after swing, he was getting higher, until when he felt he was going to back-flip, he started screaming for help._

_Max, his late eldest brother who was reading a book by then, quickly looked up to see what was happening and saw Jeremy getting bullied. He quickly strode over them and attacked at the biggest boy, fury making him ten times stronger, and fiercer. In only a punch he had gotten blood oozing out of the other boy's nose. He jumped on him and punched him even harder. By the time he had gotten up to take care of the others, they had disappeared. But Jeremy was still on the swing and was still screaming, but his brother knew what to do. Max jumped, clinging to the ropes of the swings and stopped it abruptly with his weight, clinging to his little brother. Then he jumped back, landing on his back with Jeremy on top of him. The scared look had left Jeremy's face and a look of amusement replaced it. They both laughed at what happened and they went to play somewhere else._

As the scene re-played in his mind, he wept. Tears rolled down his face, oh, how he missed his brother! How he missed his hugs! How he missed the link among his brother, Elena and him! How he missed being at home with his parents! As he cried, another memory played in his mind. But it was not a happy one at all.

_Elena had been sleeping over at her friend's house. He was sleeping in Max's room when a thump woke him up. He didn't wake his brother up, he just got out of bed and went to investigate. As he wandered around quietly in the house, he couldn't find anything. There was nothing there. He went to bed, sleeping next to his older brother this time, feeling scared. But as he was drifting to sleep, another sound erupted the silence. But this time, it was a woman's, _his mother's,_ screams. He quickly got up, and as he raced towards his parents' bedroom, he hit something hard and blacked out. And the next day, he woke up in a hospital wing. He waited until someone noticed he was conscious, and the poor nurse told him what had happened. The neighbors had woken up to the sound of his mother's cries and when they arrived, they were too late. His parents were dead, and Max had went missing. They could only guess that the assassins had taken him but never knew why. When they got to the corridor, they had found Jeremy lying there unconscious, his face full of deep wounds, and two of his wounds were on his neck. They brought him to the hospital and that was that, in this one night, his life had shifted from perfect, to a soap opera. As he listened to the nurse telling him about the way they found his parents mutilated, he cried. _

_After a while, he told the nurse that his sister was safe at her friend's house. They grew up with their uncle, and when Elena was old enough, they moved in their old house, the place where their parents had been murdered. Now, their parent's had left them so much money they didn't even need to work to pay for the bills, but still, Elena had gotten a part-time job at a restaurant near their home. _

And all these memories had brought back the pain, and Jeremy remembered how hard it was to push it all away, to block it all out of his mind.

Now that Elena was with Stefan, she practically always stood the night there, so Jeremy was obliged to go sleep at Stefan's house too, since his older sister wouldn't allow him to stay alone in his house.

Now, after some time, Elena had discovered her lover and his brother's darkest secret. They were vampires. Obviously, Jeremy was let on the secret and they both lived knowing the true nature of the two Salvatore brothers.

Jeremy's stomach growled, so he got up and went to the kitchen, wiping away his tears.


	2. Chapter 2

_All characters are property of Miss LJ Smith. Nothing else you recognize is mine, and what you don't recognize is mine. _

He found Stefan there, with a glass of whisky in his hand.

"Since when do you drink?" Jeremy asked the vampire.

"Sometimes, I just need something to keep my mind off things," was Stefan's answer.

"And how is it working so far?"

"It isn't." Stefan said miserably, as he slumped his head forward, hitting the table.

"Maybe you need a different kind of entertainment," Jeremy mumbled, but regretted it as soon as the vampire's head rose.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing!" Jeremy said, blushing. He turned to cover it up, and, pretending to be staring at the bookshelf. "So what's for lunch?"

"A whole bunch of blood bags," Stefan said casually. Jeremy rolled his eyes and picked up his phone to order pizza.

The day went by pretty fast, Jeremy had taken a long walk in the streets of Mystic Falls, and had spent the day alone, enjoying the beauty of nature. He also visited the Mystic Grill to have some dinner, then he caught a cab and went home.

The next day, after lunch, he sat down on his bed and took his laptop, inserting a DVD to watch. He desperately needed a way to relax completely.

As the minutes of the movie ticked by, Jeremy began to drift off, until a very suspenseful scene shook him wide awake. He sat up in bed and focused on the screen. But suddenly, a shadow quickly slided in from the window and Damon Salvatore was standing there.

"Can I join?" He said, as if nothing had happened earlier that day.

Jeremy just made some space as a confirmation and then they were both watching the movie, on the laptop on Jeremy's lap. Half an hour passed and Jeremy suddenly groaned, "Ughh, this is so annoying!" and he swept the laptop off his lap.

Damon stared at the place where sat the laptop only a few minutes ago and then quickly shook his gaze away when the boy had noticed he was staring. He looked up into Jeremy's eyes and what he saw there surprised him. There was a pure mix of passion and lust in his gaze. Damon even picked up his pheromones that were proof of Jeremy's aroused state. Damon sprang a hard on as soon as he noticed the other boy's arousal and then he reached for Jeremy's chin, holding it close, and kissed the boy's lips like it contained the essence of life in it.

Jeremy's mind was swirling with questions. Was Damon gay? Was he really kissing him out of love or lust? Was Damon just going to use him as a sex toy? What was he, Jeremy, supposed to do? Kiss back? Reject the kiss? But did he dare reject it? He feared Damon's wrath if he would. Jeremy's heartbeats quickened and Damon felt that, and, thinking it was because Jeremy was liking the feelings the vampire was provoking, he pressed his lips even harder on the confused teenager's.

Damon reached out and grabbed Jeremy's hair, tugging at it and twirling it around his fingers while the kiss got more passionate, more desperate. Jeremy broke off the kiss to put the laptop away, but then quickly killed the distance between them and carried on kissing the other guy. Damon moved up and got on top of Jeremy, their bodies fitting together like two pieces of puzzle.

They groaned as their groins pressed against each other and Damon was fucking thirsty! Bloodlust was overwhelming him but he kept thinking about that would happen if he allowed himself the little taste of Jeremy's blood.

But the boy's lust was astonishingly overwhelming too. It was radiating off him in a sort of smell Damon couldn't quite describe, but he knew that it was awesome. Damon's jeans were getting tighter and tighter, and he noticed the rock hard erection that was building a tent in Jeremy's jeans, so he took hold of Jeremy's shirt and started tugging at it to take it off. Jeremy co-opperated, and then the shirt was off. Damon was lucky, the boy hadn't been wearing anything else.

Next was Damon's shirt, and when it was off, his tank top followed. Then Damon jumped off the bed, he had gotten an idea.

"Up for some real turn on fun?" he said, winking at Jeremy.

Jeremy didn't have any idea what was Damon referring to so he only game him a confused look. "Just close your eyes." Damon said calmly.

Jeremy closed his eyes, leaning back into bed and trying to guess what Damon was planning . When it came to Damon, you could only expect the unexpected.

"Okay, give me your right hand," Damon said. Damon was sitting on the edge of the bed near Jeremy and was tying a rope around his hand.

Now Jeremy knew what Damon meant. Jeremy knew he was gay since he was, like 15, and he knew it because bondage turned him on. So much. Pure bondage, not the ones with torture, or anything, but he just liked the idea of being tied and taken care of. So he let Damon work over his body, without giving any comment.

Then the blindfold was off and they were back in the same position, kissing again. But now Jeremy's hands were tied on the bedpost, so he couldn't undress himself or his companion. They kept kissing until Damon stopped the kiss to plant a trail of kisses down Jeremy's neck, throat, chest, stomach... And arriving at his jeans, he slowly unbuckled the boy's jeans, and, pulling them down, he left Jeremy in his boxers. Damon pulled his own pants down and jumped on Jeremy again, continuing the kiss. But this time, it didn't last like the first two, because Damon had finally given up and dived on Jeremy's throat. Jeremy didn't struggle because he knew it wasn't going to do him any good.

As Damon sucked out of Jeremy's blood, Jeremy's body kept growing weaker and weaker, until he was clinging to life. As soon as Damon noticed this, the severity of his actions hit him and he quickly stopped. He pulled back and bit his own hand, and, thrashing it in front of Jeremy's face, he made him drink it until the boy's color had restored and his cock was again at a hard state.

Damon sighed, he had been scared at the idea of murdering his brother's girlfriend's brother, and he would've been dead if it weren't from him, because his ring wasn't even on his finger.

He began untying the ropes and freeing the boy. He waited, and waited, and as time passed, he began having doubts. Was Jeremy dead? What would he say to his brother if he was? He looked at the boy who was finally coming back to his senses.

He strutted over to the mostly limp body. Jeremy's eyes were sowly fluttering open, as if too scared to open them up.

"What happened?" Jeremy said, looking freaking out about something and staring into the vampire's emotionless eyes. Damon didn't answer, he kept staring at the boy.

After he summoned up enough courage, Damon said: "Jeremy, I... I didn't know that... I couldn't control... I shouldn't have..." he kept trying to say words that wouldn't come out. He wanted to say an apology to Jeremy, but something kept him. Was it his pride? Or maybe was it his coherence in the boy's eyes?

But Jeremy didn't want to hear it. He quickly jumped up, gathered his emotions and headed to the door. He didn't know where he was going, but he couldn't stand just sitting there doing nothing in his situation.

After some decent miles, he arrived at a park. He walked on, avoiding people's stares. A teenager walking alone in a park for children wasn't very common. He then arrived to the edge of a pond and sat on the grass. He sat down and stared at the reflection of the sun in the glittering water. It wasn't until someone landed next to him in a light thud that he noticed he was crying.

"Why are you crying?" Damon said.

_He can be so thick sometimes!_ Jeremy thought. Damon had just almost killed him and he just came here to ask what was wrong?

See, Jeremy wasn't crying exactly because Damon had almost killed him. He was crying because his doubts were confirmed, Damon had only wanted Jeremy's body and blood; he didn't kiss him or even try to sleep with him out of attraction or anything. Jeremy expected this, but he just wanted to think differently. It was how his love for Damon blinded him.

He ignored the vampire that was actually pretty concerned, and stood up, heading towards the playgrounds. Of course, Damon took hold of Jeremy's arms and spun him around. He stepped closer and looked deeply in the boy's eyes.

"Seriously, Jer. What's wrong?" His voice cracked at the end of the sentence, and that just gave him away, because suddenly, somehow, Jeremy's heart was softening. Just the concern of the vampire delighted him.

But now Jeremy's mind was spinning even harder. He was confused. What to feel? If Damon wasn't a vampire, he would definitely be schizophrenic or something. Damon was in a different personality every few minutes.

"Damon, you killed me. End of story." His voice came out icy and cold. He didn't want it to come out that way, because he knew Damon didn't do it on purpose. He was a vampire and his bloodlust caused him those problems. But Jeremy was too mad to see reason.

"Jer, I'm sorry, okay? I just… I lost control. And I'm sorry." Damon said, staring at his sneakers. Jeremy's eyes widened. Damon had voiced an apology. AN APOLOGY FROM DAMON! DAMON! "Forgive me?" Damon said. _Since I'm apologizing, _he thought, _I better do my best at it._

Jeremy looked in Damon's eyes whose colors were even more beautiful than the lake. And then Jeremy realized something. This apology was enough proof of Damon's humanity. He wasn't that asshole he always pretended to be. Jeremy gulped out a whole lot of air and nodded.

Back home, Jeremy went to take a shower. He decided that he really needed something to relax. He locked the door and laid down his clothes and underwear, he didn't want the same thing that happened a few days ago to happen again. He stripped down and turned on the hot water, then, standing in, he sank down and closed his eyes. As the time drifted by, he felt the oxygen slowly fading in the room, but the heat radiating from the hot water was weakening him. He closed his eyes. Maybe he would rest them a little until…

He drifted off to sleep, until his back slipped and his whole body slumped against the hard bathtub floor. His head hit the edge hard, and a wound formed at the spot. Blood began dripping out and Jeremy passed out.

"Jeremy…" "JEREMY!" "Wake up, please wake up, Jeremy!" Something hit the unconscious boy's cheek as he began to wake up. He slowly opened his eyes to see a blurred Damon wit bloodshot eyes kneeling over him. When his vision adjusted, he stared at the vampire's relaxed face. What had happened?

It wasn't until he tried to stand before he noticed his condition. He was lying on his back, naked, water dripping from everywhere, on Damon's bed, with Damon just on top of him.

"What happened?" Jeremy asked in a confused whisper.

"You probably fell asleep, and hit your head hard. Luckily, I was waiting for you to finish shower. And since it took you so much time, I couldn't help but make sure you were alright. When you didn't answer me, I panicked so I knocked the door off and you were swimming in a f*cking pool of blood. I suppose you know how you recovered…"

Jeremy looked into the vampire's eyes. They were filled with fear, with sorrow also. Jeremy wanted to tell him it was alright, that he was fine. So Jeremy wrapped his arms around Damon's neck, and kissed him.

**SOO! You like? Tell me! And make sure to leave a review for me please, It always helps! Should I continue with the story? More to come if you are interested! So, what's the magic word? REVIEW! **


	3. Chapter 3

**To all those who have been waiting, SORRY! I got a bit distracted and couldn't finish off early. Again, sorry! **

**What you recognize isn't mine and what you don't recognize is mine, blah blah blah. All characters except for Jeremy's older bro, which is mine, are property of Ms LJ Smith. Be sure to review and let me know what you like / don't like. Also, a fair warning, this is SLASH. As in Boy/Boy action. Don't like , f*ck off. Enjoy!(:**

**Also, special thanks to my beta Monkeywand . Cheers!**

Damon was shocked, indeed. He had expected Jeremy waking up all confused and shit, but he ended up kissing him. KISSING HIM! Only hours later, Jeremy hadn't been speaking to him, and now they were kissing. Pushing away all his thoughts, Damon deepened the kiss and focused on trying to make the best out of it. There was fire roaring between them, from one's lips to the others. Also, Damon was on top of Jeremy who had been naked and wet, so the scene was oh-so-hot.

And suddenly, having the extremely convenient ability to ruin every single good thing happening in Damon's life, Stefan busted open the door, getting in the room casually. His eyes traveled to where Damon was lying, just on top of Jeremy's naked body, with their lips still crashed against each other.

"Hey, I was just going to – WHAT THE HELL?" Stefan said as he stumbled backwards, taken off guard.

Jeremy wanted to get away from Damon in front of his own sister's boyfriend, but Damon was way heavier than he could even fathom to think. He laid there motionless, waiting for what was going to unfold between Damon and his own brother. And as quickly as it all had happened, Damon jumped from the bed and off Jeremy, landing just in front of his shocked looking brother.

"Anything wrong, little brother?" he asked in his annoyingly calm voice. Even Jeremy couldn't believe him, he expected a way more furious reaction from Damon.

Stefan, still in shock, rotated in place and started to get out of the room. Jeremy jumped up, wanting to get dressed. He wasn't feeling like making out right now. But as he stood up, he stumbled backwards, nearly falling down, if it hadn't been from Damon who caught him just in time.

"Thanks," Jeremy mumbled, as he adjusted himself and continued to the bathroom where he was bound to find his clothes. The water had dried off him so he didn't use his towel.

Even though afterwards, things began to feel pretty awkward, Jeremy didn't dare mention it to Damon. But he took out his phone, and even though in the same house, and Jeremy was in the living room, Damon somewhere else, texted Damon.

_We mustn't let Stefan tell my sister, Damon, it would be living hell. And also, I am NOT ready to come out of the closet._

_ What the f*ck should I do, Jeremy? Kill him, maybe?_

_ I have no idea, manage it, he's your brother._

_ And since when are you the one commanding?_

_ God, he's your brother! Please! Try._

Damon didn't reply to his text. Jeremy figured he had finally agreed. The thing is, Jeremy wasn't emotionally ready to be known as the gay guy at school – not that he cared about anyone's opinion – and especially that most students are homophobic in his school.

And adding to all the insecurities Jeremy felt towards this new found homosexuality, he didn't even figure out his feelings towards Damon. Every time they touched, Jeremy felt a bolt of electricity shooting through them. But did Damon feel the same? Did Damon whimper at the slightest touch? Did Damon think of Jeremy as much as Jeremy thought of him every day? Confused thoughts swirled in Jeremy's mind and he didn't know what to do, say, or even _think _anymore! Was Damon even _worth _the pain and confusion he was feeling?

It was a relief that Elena would be back soon enough. And, just ironically as Jeremy thought about it, his cell phone rang. He scrambled in his pocket and fetched it, picking up.

"Hello?"

"Jeremy! It's me, Elena. Look, I need to tell you that me and Bonnie are going to be longer than we thought."

"How much time, Elena?" Jeremy's voice said, a little shakily.

"About two weeks."

"TWO WEEKS?" Jeremy nearly screamed in the phone.

Then he heard footsteps arriving and Stefan was standing right next to Jeremy. "What's in two weeks?"

Jeremy ignored his question and threw him the phone, Stefan catching it. He spoke with Elena, and while Jeremy was turning away to go to his room – he didn't fancy listening to their conversation – Stefan motioned him to stay. Jeremy sat at the nearest couch and tried as hard as he could not to listen to their conversation, but he couldn't help but notice some sexual meaning in what Stefan said. He glared at his sister's boyfriend, even though he couldn't see him, and then quickly turned away as Stefan hung up.

"What's up?" Jeremy said, sounding a little less stressed than before. But the words Stefan said next ruined his relaxation.

"Look, we need to talk."

Jeremy didn't answer, as he knew what Stefan meant. It also wasn't a surprise to him that Stefan wanted to talk about what he had seen earlier. Stefan took Jeremy's silence as a confirmation and went on, "Look, really, what you're doing with Damon is none of my business. Hell, I can't tell you what to do. But I need to warn you. Damon isn't the guy you'd like to mess around with, especially because of his moods. He is very bipolar and is bound to end up hurting you if you get your hopes up. Remember what he did when he first came to Mystic Falls? Remember the dangers he put all of us through? That was nothing. Jeremy, Damon's a vampire. You don't know the dangers that could happen in your relationship."

"How come you know all of this and you still haven't backed away from my sister?"

"Because I am straight and it wouldn't be any shock to Elena's friends to discover that she's dating a guy. Do you want to put Damon through all the homosexual drama? You want a serious relationship, he doesn't give a fuck or two about them. All he wanted was to get laid, and just that made you think about love. _And, _love is what Damon is trying to escape!"

With that, Stefan turned around and left. Jeremy went to his room, and sobbed. He cried out all his sorrow, all his life's miseries. It was ironic. Jeremy never cried, unless someone was dead. But now he really cried.

But what both Stefan and Jeremy didn't know, is that Damon was upstairs, listening to every bit of conversation, and drinking away all his pain. Was that really all Stefan thought of him? Was that really the effect that he was giving to his lover and his brother? Was that what Jeremy also thought of him?

But wasn't his apology enough to prove that he, at least, cared about Jeremy? Or was an apology not enough proof of that? And as Damon drank his third bottle, he fell to the floor and cried.

Downstairs, Jeremy was drifting to sleep after all the tears he had shed. As his soul rested, dreams began swirling in his mind, each crazier than the other. One featured he and Damon kissing. The second, he and Damon making love. The third, Elena discovering everything. The fourth… fifth… sixth… seventh… Dreams swept by, and when Jeremy woke up again, he didn't remember any of them. He just knew that he had a wet dream, because he woke up the next day, having slept a night and half a day, with a morning wood he had never had.

Damon didn't even sleep. He was up all night and, unlike Jeremy, couldn't cry himself to sleep. No, he was up all night getting as drunk as he could until he passed out. It was this type of extreme life that Stefan always referred to.

As Jeremy got up, his stomach hurt like hell, he hadn't eaten for so much time. So he had a quick shower and went to the kitchen to make some coffee. What was really cool, is that the Boarding House is like his own home. He didn't feel weird or timid about just opening the fridge and eating, especially that the owners' diets didn't include what could be found in a fridge. After pouring himself a nice, hot cup of coffee, he made himself a sandwich and went to the living room, turning on the television and passing through the channels, nothing catching his eyes in particular. He then settled on a Harry Potter movie playing and watched as the 17 year old boy was to get past a dragon.

And, of course, he couldn't get an ounce of alone time in this house. Stefan was suddenly just laying there, across the room, on a couch, acting like he was watching the movie a long time ago.

"Mornin'" Stefan said, in a very unsure voice, unlike his posture was showing. Jeremy was so pissed at him he only acknowledged his presence by nodding towards him. "Are you still upset? Look Jeremy, I don't want to be the one to ruin your relationship. I'm just trying to help!"  
>"Well, it's too late," Jeremy said, his voice breaking. In fact, it wasn't entirely Stefan's fault. He really should have known from the beginning that Damon didn't care about him, but he felt the need to push away the fact that he knew it all along and to blame it on somebody else.<p>

But memories fought back. Jeremy remembered when, just a day earlier, he woke up naked, in bed, extremely wet, with Damon on top of him, having saved his life. He remembered the time in the park when Damon actually apologized to him. He remembered their first kiss. Not passionate enough, because lust was overwhelming both of them. It wasn't entirely a happy memory because he wounded up dead and brought back to life by Damon's blood, but still. It was actually _romantic._ Tears of joy began streaming from his eyes, he ignored his breakfast and went upstairs, leaving Stefan thinking he'd done something wrong, and going to Damon's room.

Once upstairs, he rushed towards the closed door of his room. He didn't even knock, he barged in the room and then he knew it was a huge mistake. Damon was lying there, unconscious, with a broken bottle of wine clutched in his hands and few others laying there, empty. Jeremy quickly rushed towards the limp body and sat, positioning himself just like Damon had done to him when he saved him.

He grabbed hold of the drunkie's head and slapped him hard to wake him up. _How romantic_, he thought to himself. But it wasn't time for romanticism. Jeremy wanted to scream his love towards the black haired guy beneath him, and squish his lips on his own. He didn't know how or why this sudden urge came to him, but he knew that it was overwhelming and that he needed it satisfied, _now._ A few more slaps and Damon's eyes were fluttering open. But as they opened, Jeremy saw how bloodshot they were. It looked as if his eyes were bleeding! Jeremy felt a huge pang of pain in his chest.

"Jeremy?" Damon's soft voice said. Jeremy never heard something more beautiful. He loved it when Damon spoke his name, groaned it, moaned it, or whatever synonym of the verb that would come up. But he also never hear Damon speak that way, as if, weak. As if, there was nothing good left in the world. It was hopeless, the voice. It was pathetic. Just hearing it come out of Damon's mouth made tears stream from Jeremy's eyes even more than he had been crying only a few minutes before.

"What's happened to you, Damon?" Jeremy said, his voice sounding half as weak as he felt. Half as hurt as he felt.

"I heard you and Stefan talking yesterday, Jeremy. I want you to know. It is NOT true. No word of it at all. Please don't believe all the fuckery he said, Jer. Please… I…"

"Don't worry, Damon. I haven't. I believe in you, _I believe in us,_" he said the last four words as if it was the end of life as we know it, and he bent down, grabbing hold of Damon's lips between his own, and kissed him fiercely.

1 minute… 2 minutes… 3 minutes… 4 minutes… time flew by as they kissed and neither of them noticed. Neither of them took the next step or even tried to take the kiss elsewhere, because it wasn't a kiss that led to sex. Hell, it was not a common kiss between two lovers. Now both of them were crying, and it was a kiss of pure, naked love. Affection. Warmth. This kiss could be described by everything good in life combined. But nothing could last forever. Damon broke the kiss by holding up Jeremy's diving head, and, looking into the boy's brown eyes, told him with the warmest voice he could master,

"I love you."

_**Okaaay you guys! So I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. More to come on the next chapter! Also, I'd extremely appreciate it if you review. Every email coming from makes my heart beat faster, especially when it means someone is reviewing or added my story to their favorites. Thanks again guys, you make me what I am! PLEASE, REVIEW! Your opinion, your ideas for this story, even the mistakes I make, correct them! I want to know everything. Cheers! xx**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Hey guys! Hope I haven't kept you waiting a long time. Now, just so you know, this chapter is Rated M because of lemon, as in, graphical sex. If you want to avoid reading it, I have put stars just before the smutty part (which takes most of the chapter), and you can carry on reading the fanfic without it. **_

_**Also, the characters all belong to LJ Smith, except for Jeremy's brother who isn't even mentioned in this chapter. Anyways, Enjoy! **_

"I love you." Damon said again, having to repeat himself because the boy on top of him fell in shock.

"I… You do? I mean, I… I… I love you too." Jeremy said finally, after a long time of confusion. And it was all Damon was waiting for. He rolled on top of Jeremy, pinning him down, and kissed him again. Their lips danced against each other, and after some time, their tongues started exploring each other's mouths.

Damon didn't reply, and after some long kissing, his hands traveled towards the younger boy's shirt, struggling to take it off without tearing it apart. But he suddenly stopped, and looked into Jeremy's eyes. "Now?" he asked him. He wasn't even sure if Jeremy was ready for love, so he needed to make sure Jeremy was doing it out of pure instinct and pleasure, and not being obliged or anything.

"I'm ready," Jeremy said eagerly. And it was all Damon needed.

**********************LEMON**********************

Damon attacked at Jeremy's lips which fought back viciously, their mouths wrestling and crashing against each other's. Since Jeremy was the one on top, he could pretty much control anything. Jeremy's hands were exploring and feeling Damon's body, while Damon's right hand wavered over the boy's cheeks, and felt the light stubble there. Damon smiled into the kiss. Still kissing, the boy started pushing his groin against Damon's, and then they were both grunting against each other. But Jeremy's astounding teenage hormones ruled and got the best of him. Jeremy quickly started taking off his own T-shirt with the help of Damon's pesky hands. Afterwards, the tank top was thrown off too. It was then Damon's turn to undress, and when Jeremy's hands wandered around to give him some help, Damon slapped them away, not needing any.

They were both left kissing fiercely in their jeans with Jeremy still on top of Damon. But Jeremy knew they wouldn't last that way because he knew Damon enough to know that Damon was always the one controlling. And just as the boy gave a thought to it, Damon flipped him over and took control, as if he had actually heard what the boy thought. Their hands were now a blur because of the feeling around they kept doing. Damon then jumped off Jeremy, grabbing hold of him by wrapping his arms around the other boy's neck, and dragged him upwards.

Both of them were now standing up and kissing, their lips emitting small sounds of _Slurp _or other very explicit terms you could think of. Then Damon did something that made Jeremy's heart flutter, because he was sure Damon wouldn't quite do that to anyone. Damon began kissing lightly down Jeremy's throat, towards his chest, stopping a little to nibble at the nipples, and continued their trail down. He then knelt down and started unbuckling Jeremy's belt, then, taking it off, he took off Jeremy's pants and made him step out of them. Slowly, Damon kissed at the lump in the boy's boxers and made it even harder than it was. And, slowly yet again, he took off the boy's boxers and enjoyed the beauty of the sight opposite him. Jeremy's large glory was standing up proudly showing off its 7 inches, with a perfect pair of balls hanging loosely down.

Damon got even lower on his knees and suckled at the balls, making sure to be gentle and slow to squeeze out every ounce of pleasure from the boy. He then made something that almost sent Jeremy on edge. He opened his mouth and swallowed Jeremy's balls, as if a tea bag dipping in hot water. As Damon swallowed the balls, his teeth scraped gently at the edges and made Jeremy emit a huge moan of pleasure. His mouth was full, but Damon smiled at the pleasure he was giving to his lover.

Soon enough, Damon gently got the balls out of his mouth and started licking at the base of Jeremy's cock. That made him get even harder, even though he didn't think he could be any harder by now. Damon continued his licking but expanded it from the base of the penis till the tip, so he licked at the whole shaft now. Then he got ready and took just the tip of Jeremy's cock in his mouth, savoring the boy's pre-cum. He slowly pushed up and down his head, trying to take as much as he could inside his mouth. 1 inch down… 2 inches down… 3 inches down… Already 4 inches down, and Damon felt he was about to gag. It was an awesome feeling, having another man's cock inside his mouth, but Damon felt a little embarrassed at not being able to entirely swallow the cock.

So as if to prove himself, he pushed even harder forward and swallowed even more of the throbbing cock that was starting to touch the back of his throat. Jeremy face fucked Damon, grabbing his hair and slightly pulling on it. He was now grunting furiously, balls slapping on Damon's chin. He gave a last huge moan and began cumming into Damon's mouth that was fast swallowing the liquid. One, two, three, four sprays shot in Damon's mouth while he struggled to swallow as much life essence as he could. A bit dripped down the length of Damon's chin, but even as Jeremy continued shooting endless streams of liquid, Damon kept swallowing bravely until the last drop. With only a few thrusts later, Jeremy pulled out and gave himself up to the bed. Damon got on top of him and they kissed again, both sharing the remains of cum.

It was then Damon's turn. As he broke the kiss apart, he kneeled on the bed with Jeremy laying in front of him and took hold of the other boy's feet, throwing them on his shoulders and positioning his throbbing cock at the entrance.

"Ready?" He said in a husky voice that made Jeremy shiver.

Jeremy nodded and said, "Go easy on me, it's my first time."

Of course, Damon being the top, he obliged. He pushed in, slowly, the tip of his cock. He kept pushing in, as slowly as he could manage, until finally the tip was buried in Jeremy's entrance. Jeremy's face had two tiny drops of sweat on his temple, his cheeks were blushed, and his teeth were sinking into his lips, not wanting to scare Damon because of the intense pain that was coming. When half of Damon's length was in, Jeremy had bitten so hard on his lips he had actually begun to draw blood. Damon apparently noticed it – probably because of him being a vampire – and paused for an instant. He looked deep in the boy's eyes, trying to find anything unwelcome like fear or even pain. But the pain was actually giving way to some pleasure, which Damon noticed, so he carried on.

He pulled out, then, not being able to resist more, he thrust just back in, this time, making his cock slam even harder then before and even more of his manhood enter Jeremy. Jeremy moaned loudly, so even a human could hear it, no matter how far. His moan turned on Damon even more, and he kept thrusting until he finally found a rhythm and carried on. Jeremy was moaning like crazy and now jacking himself off. Now, Damon could understand why he was enjoying it this much. Because Damon's blood, him being a vampire, flowed even faster and throbbed even harder in his veins, causing his penis to become even larger than the average human one.

Also, Damon's stamina was pretty strong too. But even though his stamina would usually last an hour or two with human women, now, with the fragile attractive – no, gorgeous – no, sexy – no, … - he didn't feel able to last a lot. Just the mere scent of the boy's arousal was too much. But Damon didn't dare even try to cum early, it ws too much of a pang to his pride. So he switched positions to one that didn't turn him on as much. They were now fucking doggy style, but it didn't seem to do any better to Damon.

On and on they went, Jeremy moaning ever so loudly, Damon grunting ever so attractively. He was shifting positions so much to keep from cumming that when he finally felt the climax coming, they were both sweating heavily, the sweat making their skin glisten in the faint light. His balls tightened, his teeth gritting, he yanked Jeremy's hand away from his cock and jacked the boy off to the rhythm of his pounding. When he finally reached the Point of No Return, they both came together again, with Damon's hands, one across Jeremy's torso, trapping him from escape, and the other on the boy's cock. They both fell in the bed and Jeremy fell asleep – NO, fainted – probably from exhaustion. Damon wanted to fall asleep next to him, but his fangs were aching so much. Fire was writhing around his throat, suffocating him. Plus, the boy's sweet scent didn't do any help. So he gently separated himself from Jeremy, and headed for the door. Before he did, though, he left him a letter, just so Jeremy wouldn't suddenly wake up and start worrying. Paranoia was very annoying to Damon. He got dressed, leaving the white paper wide open on the table, and disappeared from the window.

He settled for the stupid animal diet Stefan was so keen on keeping, because he was afraid to hurt Jeremy. And to Damon changing his human diet to an animal one for someone, that someone was bound to be special. He thought about it, thought about the possibility of him being a couple with Jeremy, but as always, fled from his problems and embraced his animal instincts, killing and eating every animal that had the unluckiness of being in his path. He spent the whole day hunting, knowing that Jeremy would take long to wake up, and half the night just laying there, staring at the lake in the park.

**Stefan POV**

2 AM, I woke up half naked in bed. I grabbed my iPhone to see a text message from Elena. When I saw her name, I felt bad for not contacting her. I had been so busy trying to fix our brother's relationships that I had almost forgotten about her. I unlocked the phone and stared at the screen, my eyes squinting through the darkness because of the blinding light radiating from the phone. Once my eyes adjusted, I read her text.

_Stefan… I miss you. We've found some exciting news. I've been calling and texting Jeremy, but he's not answering. I'm getting worried. Can you check on him? Xoxo_

_On it. _I immediately texted back. I quickly ran to Jer's room, not bothering to get dressed. Arriving, I was thrilled to see Jeremy sleeping. He, too, was naked in bed. His phone's LED was brightly lighting up. But, mixed with all the scents radiating from the room, I smelled something rather odd. I thought for a second and then analyzed the source. I smelled sperm. Then it all snapped in place. I realized my brother had mated with Jeremy. I searched the room, thinking Damon would have at least stayed the night next to Jeremy, when I came across a letter.

_Jer, sorry I had to leave. Sex is unfortunately not my only need. I've went hunting. (No worries, I'm sticking to my brother's stupid animal diet.) Don't worry about me, except if I'm not back before morning, which is unlikely. Love, Damon._

Love? A letter? I raised my eyebrows as I re-read the last words carefully, making sure the dim light was not fooling my sight. But it was there, the simple but oh-so-complicated four characters word. I sighed, not knowing what to do, until I decided that it was none of my business. I could almost hear a snarky comment from my brother saying, "Took you long enough."

Folding back the paper and going back to my room, I decided to act as I don't know that anything is going on. It is probably the wisest thing to do. Confronting Damon about it will make things worse.

**Jeremy POV: **

A slight light was penetrating Jeremy's eyelids when they fluttered open, letting in loads more. He was a fast waker so as soon as this happened he was already sitting up to examine his surroundings. He was still in that bedroom. He felt as if he was waking up from the most wonderful dream, one where Damon and he had made love and fallen in each other's arms.

He got up, only then noticing that he had nothing on, and headed for the drawer to borrow one of Damon's boxers. He couldn't walk around in the damned house naked. When he was dressed, as he was heading to the door, he noticed a small paper folded neatly on his bedside table. He opened it and read Damon's letter. When he arrived to the last words, his expression was even more exaggerated then Stefan's. He had gasped at the sight of the word "love", knowing that Damon was really repulsed by anything near humanity. Of course, he had accepted to keeps his emotions on and not turn it off like he used to, but it still was, for him, a weakness. Love.

He dropped the letter again on the bedside table and went for the door again, and once again he was distracted. This time, by a mirror. He stood in front of it. Of course, it wasn't the mirror that had caught his attention. It was the reflection there. He was standing, his abs as clear as possible, but his body was covered of angry red wounds. They weren't deep, as he was not hurting. He cursed loudly, and when he accidentally touched his wrist to the door handle, he gave a loud yelp and stumbled backwards. The door barged open, revealing a stunned Stefan looking for an enemy, eyes surrounded by bulging veins because of his vampire powers. When he saw that it was just Jeremy who had fallen, he gave him a hand and Jeremy gladly took it, standing up and going once more to the mirror to really make sure his wounds weren't so deep.

Stefan stood behind him, observing the reflection and the damage caused on the younger boy because of his own brother.

"Is it always like this?" Jeremy asked Stefan who was caught off guard.

"Never happened to me with Elena," Stefan said, shrugging. Jeremy felt as if he needed to be pissed because Stefan talked about having sex with his own sister, but he decided not to do anything since he himself was having sex with his bro. Stefan then stood between the mirror and Jeremy, looking deep into the boy's eyes. "Do you know what you're signing up for?"

"Yes," Jeremy whispered, his eyes telling a whole different story.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello, sweethearts. How are you all doing? Hope you haven't lost faith in this story, but I have so much in mind and so little time! So, finally, here is the 5****th**** Chapter of Pain of Yesterday. **

**PS: Hang on tight, cause some real drama is going to unfold!**

Stefan sighed, turned and headed out of Jeremy's room. The boy was still staring at his many wounds, gaping at them, and wondering whether every time he wanted to have sex with Damon, it would be that way. He didn't dare touch them as some of them were still bleeding. Hadn't Damon noticed he was hurting him? Hadn't he noticed the wounds before leaving him to deal with them alone? Or had he went to keep himself in control from drinking blood from the boy? Yes, it was probably it, Jeremy thought to himself. A quiet thump was heard right behind him and Jeremy suddenly knew his _lover _was standing right behind him.

But Jeremy didn't know it because of the mirror. The mere scent of Damon's colone was radiating off him. The boy's heart pace quickened but he calmed himself. He didn't want to be the girl in the relationship, even though it was Damon who topped him. He wanted to make it clear that he wasn't weak. He turned around, ready to face Damon. He wanted to confront him about his wounds. He was pretty hurt and Damon didn't care about it, he proved it by disappearing before Jeremy even had time to wake up.

But when he looked in Damon's eyes, he lost his train of thought. In them was a feeling he had never seen Damon have. Pain. He forgot what he was supposed to say, or to do. He didn't even have enough time to remember what he was planning to say until Damon cut him off. "I… I'm sorry." Damon muttered. Damn it, Jeremy thought. It was the second time he had ever heard Damon apologizing! He must be a good influence on Damon.

"I'm sorry," Damon said again. He looked deep in Jeremy's eyes and, with his finger, traced the pattern of a very prominent wound on Jeremy's chest that was going to be a scar.

Jeremy didn't answer. Even he didn't know how he felt. Should he feel depressed or sad like he did before? Or should he be happy or relieved that Damon actually cared? No idea. So he just stood there, staring at his many wounds, not caring that he was standing in his underwear behind a hormones filled vampire. He caressed the place where Damon had touched the skin and looked at him. "It won't happen again." Jeremy whispered.

"Never."

"And if it does?"

"We won't ever have sex again, if it ever happens again."

The answer shocked Jeremy. One wouldn't expect Damon to give up on such a thing. Sex. Damon didn't discuss such things. Damon wasn't the type of people to sacrifice his pleasure for the well being of another. This cheered up Jeremy a lot. He was an exception for Damon. He looked up at Damon's black eyes, took a deep breath, and, on the tip of his toes, kissed Damon. A soft, light kiss. Nothing more, nothing less. But this soft kiss send shivers and warmth all together down to Jeremy's lower body, and he soon had a hard on. Of course, Damon noticed but he didn't point it out. Jeremy pulled away, slowly, and looked around, searching for his jeans.

He found them near the bed and quickly wore them. Now he was looking everywhere for his clothes and garment after garment, he got fully clothed and headed out the room to go to the kitchen. Damon didn't move. Jeremy noticed it and ignored it. Once in the kitchen, he cooked himself a meal, making himself at home, and he ate. A lot. Like a pig. It was weird, his appetite was growing. He chuckled to himself as he recalled the newest Twilight movie, his friend who was a girl made him go watch it with her. He chuckled mostly because of the pregnant Bella, but also at how stupid the vampires looked in that movie. Sparkle in the sun. Seriously? He thought to himself. He continued eating, and Damon entered the kitchen once more. "What's so funny?"

"Twilight vampires." Jeremy said, not bothering to swallow his food.

"Yeah Caroline made me read a twilight book. Hated it."

Jeremy ate in silence, sneaking a glance once in a while at Damon who was playing fruit ninja on Stefan's iPhone. "What do you want to do today?" Damon asked him, Jeremy felt excited at all the plans that came up in his mind.

"What are my options?"

"Anything." Jeremy rolled his eyes. "No, really. Anything, _sweetheart_." Damon said with a slightly exaggerated british accent. Jeremy kept smirking at him.

"Let's just go to the mall. Get us some nice things." Damon said cockily.

Jeremy chuckled but then started panicking. He didn't have much money left, since everything he and Elena owned was at their home. Damon noticed it and barked out a laugh. "My treat, babe." This worried Jeremy even more, and Damon quickly said, "Illimited money. Compulsion. Don't worry about that."

**Fell's Church Mall**

They spent the day at the mall, mostly buying stuff. They did make quite a show in the men's clothes shops since Damon kept piling up as much clothes as they both could carry. Jeremy got himself a couple of books from the book store while Damon bought music CDs. They had lunch at the food court, and mostly made fun out of the stunned waiter that saw them drinking from the same milkshake. He couldn't assume that they couldn't afford an extra one by the look of their shopping bags.

Arriving at a male Burberry shop, Damon pulled Jeremy in and started throwing various clothes at him. Jeremy caught most of them and sighed as Damon pushed him inside the changing room. Damon went in with him, and Jeremy liked it. He whispered in his ears, "Wanna catch a movie? We have 10 minutes until the movies start. Better hurry up."

Jeremy nodded eagerly and started undoing his shirt with trembling hands. Damon caught them, steadied them, and yanked Jeremy's clothes off him. Jeremy was startled by the speed. They looked into each other's eyes. They kissed. Their hands explored each other's bodies, with Jeremy standing there with a boner clearly showing from his boxers, and Damon still fully clothed. But they knew way better than to have sex inside of a changing room. They broke the kiss, and when Jeremy had finally decided on some cool things that weren't too classy as Damon liked them, they got out of the store, Damon handing the stunned woman on the cache more than enough cash, and telling her to keep the change.

After finishing up, they put their stuff in Damon's car and then went to the movies. They picked an awfully violent movie and both loved it. Damon being a vampire, and him being used to his theatricals, Jeremy was quite sure that nothing left in this world could ever scare him now. The movie was over, and, at 7pm, they were heading back home.

Jeremy's stomach was screaming in agony as he was so hungry, so they pulled off into the nearest McDonald's and each ordered a couple of double burgers. Then they both came out of the restaurant, their bellies full, and finally, after such a long exhausting day, they were heading back home.

As they arrived, Damon pushed open the car door and helped Jeremy up. Then he motioned for him to walk first. Jeremy did so, and when he pulled the handle of the front door, it opened slowly, by itself. Jeremy got in, trying to find the light switch, and suddenly, everything exploded.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAAAAY!" Many voices shouted all at once. Lights went on, and Jeremy was greeted by thousands of smiling faces looking at him. They were all laughing, cheering. Then Jeremy realized that it was really his birthday. He had gotten so distracted by so many things, he wasn't even aware that this day was special! And he started recognizing faces. ELENA! His sister had come for his birthday! Tears welled up in his eyes as he looked at the other people that were singing him Happy Birthday, while the cake, carried by Stefan, approached. Caroline threw party hats everywhere, Bonnie covered the candles by her hands and lit them with her magic. Of course, no one noticed. Hell, even Tyler Lockwood was there. He smiled and waved and hugged and kissed everyone that approached him, thanking them for their surprise.

He was finally next to Elena, and she gave him a hug so strong he could barely breathe. He didn't care. He missed her so fuckin much. And she had missed a hell lot of stuff that happened. But when she stole a glance at Damon who was standing right behind him, and smiled at the raven-haired man, Jeremy guessed that Stefan had told her everything. He couldn't help but feel a little relieved and enraged that Stefan had went behind their backs and told her. It was like gossip of some sort. He moved on, shaking hands with people he didn't even know but smiling because they had bothered at least to attend.

He took some cake and champagne – Oh God that was expensive stuff – and moved on to meeting people. Apparently most of them came with Elena and Bonnie, as they had met each other when Elena had left. Damon was his shadow, following him everywhere, as if they were bonded in a way no one could imagine. And really, they did have some kind of special relationship. He shook hands with more and more people. Then, he leaned on the table, still enjoying his third glass of champagne, when his eyes met with eyes as green as grass. Golden hair hung untidily just above them. Skin so tan. But… It couldn't be! It was impossible!

Suddenly, as tears welled up even more than at first in his eyes, his knees unbuckled. He dropped his champagne glass, and fell backwards on the table full of food and bottles of spirits, and glasses. Plates, knives, everything you could think of, Jeremy was now falling on them. It was so ironic because the instant that Damon wasn't just next to Jeremy, he fell that way. Screams, bellows and shouts were heard from pretty much everywhere. Jeremy's back hurt like hell, but it was nothing compared to the fire that was burning through his body, coming from his head. He could only summon enough strength to open his eyes and see Damon standing right above him, clearly fighting the urge to bite his own wrist and present it to Jeremy to help him with his vampire blood. A huge tugging on his navel pulled him into darkness, and he closed his eyes, embracing the pain.

_Jeremy woke up, tears now in his eyes. It was the dream again. The one that was always the cause of his worst nightmares. The creatures that every kid feared. The creatures that fed on people's blood. Vampires. He hopped out of bed and went to his older brother's. He knew that it was childish of him, being a thirteen year old. Max was three years older than him, as in sixteen. But it didn't matter how old they were. Max was always the biggest comfort for Jeremy. He hopped in his bed and buried his head in his brother's chest, sobbing and wetting his shirt. Max hugged him hard. _

_ Two days later, was the Incident. The murder of his parents. The disappearance of his beloved brother. Jeremy never got comfort anymore except from his sister. And now, the only person that he cared for other than Elena, was the exact creature he feared. A vampire. But as they became lovers, Jeremy realized there were far worst things to be scared of._

And with this, Jeremy awoke. His eyes were still closed, but he now could feel his surroundings. There were some things sticking in his arms. His back felt very sticky. He realized he was only wearing boxers, but there was a thin sheet just above his navel. He shivered, and someone spoke up.

"Oh God, Jeremy," the oh-so-familiar voice spoke. Jeremy's eyelids popped open to see a very stressed out Damon staring at him. His eyes were bloodshot. He either had been crying or he stood up all night. Or both. "Oh my God, Jeremy, you scared me so much. What the fuck happened?" he said, his voice very weak.

Jeremy snapped immediately back to reality as his memories came flooding back. His heartbeat sped up, and he began shivering. "Call Elena. Now!" He nearly shouted. Damon just sat there, staring at him with eyes wider than his mouth that was also hanging slightly open. "Quickly!"

Damon disappeared and almost immediately came back with Elena. "What is it? What's wrong?" she said, her eyes scanning his body.

"Elena… I… I saw him. "

"Who did you see, Jeremy?" Her voice now was laced with concern and fear. Fear for his sanity.

He closed his eyes, and then, taking a deep breath, opened them and examined the room, trying to distract himself to calm himself down. Elena got nearer and took hold of his head, spinning it towards him. "Who did you see, Jeremy?"

"Max."

**HEY GUYS! I'm a big fan of cliff hangers. Yeaaah. And it's the first time I actually manage to make one. YOU LIKE? REVIEW! Reviews make me happy. Sorry this chapter was kinda short comparing the other ones, but I had to cut it short so that the last word of it would be "Max". **

**Also, I want you to answer within your review, what would you like your explanation for Max's appearance be? Ghost? Vampire? Hallucination? I pretty much have the plot of the next chapter in mind, but I want to know your opinions as they might change what could happen in the next chap. **

**So. Three words. REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW! **

**And many thanks to the people who have added my story to their favorites, for the people who have subscribed to story/author alert. THANKS A LOT!**

**Also a huge thanks to my beta Monkeywand. She beta'd chapter 3 only, because I was so impatient, I didn't want to hold you guys up, so I just posted the chapters. **

**PS: Harry Potter fan? Why don't you check out my new fic, In Another Life? **


	6. Chapter 6

**Soooo sorry for the delay, got loads distracted with some school work and my other fanfic. Enjoy reading this chapter! X**

"Who?" Elena said, her voice now slightly trembling. No doubt, she had heard him right, but she was hoping she hadn't.

"Max, Elena. Our brother." Jeremy whispered, his voice shaking. How was it possible? After all this time? How did he survive?

But Elena was now motioning Damon and Stefan towards them. They lifted him off the floor, and, ignoring his many struggles, carried him towards the car. "Let go of me!" He kept shouting, but they had such a strong hold of him that he did not dare move. Even if he did, his back would hurt like hell. He had, in fact, fallen on knives. He allowed himself to get distracted slightly by the pain, but he just could not forget the look of the guy that looked so much like his brother. The green eyes, the golden hair. Hell, there was no way it could be someone else!

The ride to the hospital took twenty painful minutes. Stefan was driving, Elena next to him in the front seat, and Damon sat there, Jeremy's head resting on his lap. They were staring t each other, and every time Jeremy tried to speak up, Damon would shush him. Finally, when they arrived, Damon spoke to the nurses and Jeremy was taken into a room, where no one could enter. Damon did not influence or compel the nurses because he probably would not be able to control himself. There was so much blood pouring out of so much gashes in the boy's body!

The nurse smiled at him, but he did not trust her at all. What a fake smile, she had. She took a needle and gently plugged it in his right arm. "I'm going to make you fall asleep. I'm afraid you'll need surgery. Nothing important, but a disaster if it fails." And with that, she put in the needle a clear liquid and injected it inside his system, leaving Jeremy in the world of wonders, and a very worried Damon standing outside, burning to go see what's happening.

He took the nurse's tips as that Jeremy _was _in fact in danger, as he had heard her speaking through the door. He started pacing around in front of this damned door, trying to catch whatever what was happening inside of the room. But to no avail, as the sound of machines, screams, babies, needles, scissors, and whatever could be present inside of a hospital was covering his ears.

Damon had changed since Jeremy was in his life. A lot. He wasn't making any snarky side-comments, nor was he making fun out of people. He actually cared for them. Was it really this foul, humane thing called "love" that changed him? Oh, he was sure he was in love since the moment he had apologized to Jeremy, which was something he wouldn't have done to even his own brother.

Also, he was gaining some regards towards human lives. He swore, just that instant, that if Jeremy got out of this hospital alive, he would never, under any circumstances, take any human life knowingly. Ever. It was a price he was willing to take for his loving Jeremy.

"Damon, would you please stop pacing around? He'll be fine, the nurse said so, you heard her, haven't you?" Stefan said, looking at Damon exasperatedly.

"She said that it would be a disaster if anything went wrong."

"SHE DID?" was Elena's shout right after the words escaped Damon's mouth.

"Elena, you both are over-reacting. He's going to be fine." Stefan said, still trying to calm Elena.

"Stefan, he said that he saw our dead and gone brother! I don't think the wounds that would provoke that would be too easy to heal! Damn it, I just remembered we left the party! SHIT!" Elena swore. It was maybe the first time she did so, in front of the two brothers at least, since they were both staring at her in shock. She dialed Caroline's number and told her about what happened, and smiled as Caroline calmed her down and took care of everything.

She then just sat down on the floor, resting her head on the wall. "I just can't afford to lose anyone anymore. Not now, not ever. Is it too much to ask?" It was damn weird how bipolar that girl could be.

And, Damon thought, it was also damn annoying how selfish she could be. HE was Jeremy's boyfriend! HE is the one worried sick about him! But he remembered that she didn't have any idea that they were dating so he just kept his mouth shut. It all had happened so fast. They needed to figure out _how _to tell her. Plus, their relationship had been a secret except for Stefan, who knew it all along. _Focus, Damon, your lover is under the knives right now. _How ironic, this "under the knives" saying is. He had been just above them an hour ago. _FOCUS. _Alright. He couldn't hear much, as all sounds were confused with every single beep emitting from machines, computers, cell phones, and whatever engine were inside the hospital.

"Why couldn't we have given him vampire blood again?" Damon said, trying his best at looking just bored out of his mind in front of Elena.

"Because there were people in the party, Damon." Stefan said, trying his best at not to smirk. He was obviously enjoying the internal struggle his brother was facing. And it was not very common that Damon Salvatore ever had an "internal struggle".

The words drowned in Damon's head, not making any impression on him. Why? Because the door of the hospital room Jeremy was being taken care of in was slowly opening. The nurse got out and went directly towards Elena. Damon jumped up and ran towards them, "Is he going to be okay?"

"I'm afraid, sir, he is going to need another surgery, the next one much more… Umm, how shall I say it? Complicated, perhaps?"

"English, please?" Damon said, now he was getting pissed off.

"The surgery we just did on him is to keep his heart beating temporarily. It seems like the boy was in shock just before he fell, which caused his heart rate to speed up and for the wounds he got when he fell to be way more bloodier. Even after all this is done, we need to have a blood test for the boy and – "

"_WILL HE FUCKING MAKE IT?"_ Damon shouted, anger swelling up inside him. He felt the need to push the nurse, go inside the room, and either feed Jeremy vampire blood or kill the doctors just for the sake of it. But he would not be helping Jeremy in that way. So he took a few breaths, ignoring the look the nurse was giving him – she was probably still in shock from his outburst – and closed his eyes. When he was sure he was in control, he looked at her again and asked, "Will he make it?"

"I sincerely hope he does," the nurse said. It was as if she pitied them. But how could've Jeremy have gotten such bad injuries? How was it possible that such a fall could do such a thing? The nurse turned on her heels and went back in. Now, they had to wait for the second surgery that decided whether Jeremy lived or not to end.

Elena was still sitting in her corner, in shock, tears welling up in her eyes and sobs barely escaping her beautiful parted lips.

Meanwhile, back at home, Caroline was just saying goodbye to the remaining guests and apologizing to them when she noticed that she didn't recognize one of the guests. It was probably Elena who invited him. But, what was weird, was that he had a strikingly remarkable appearance that reminded Caroline of Jeremy. They had very similar features. The skin tone. The jaw. The eyes. They were just too much alike. "Hey! Gold locks! Wait up!" She ran as fast as she could in "human" pace and joined him. "Where do you know Jeremy from?"

"We've met a while back," he said, his voice ever so deep.

Caroline liked what she saw. The guy was gorgeous. So, turning on her flirting attitude and using her cockiest voice, she asked, "What's your name?"

The boy moved closer. Caroline noticed everyone had left. He invaded her personal space just in his presence. "Do you really care what my name is?" he said in a husky voice, radiating lust.

Caroline quickly got the message and crashed her lips to his. They moved slowly first but then longingly. Then their tongues danced, fighting for domination, each colliding against the other. The boy had Caroline pressed up against the wall and they were taking their clothes off now, before she stopped him from undressing her. "Let's go somewhere we can't be interrupted."

They got re-dressed and went towards Caroline's car. They left the Salvatore's house and were now heading towards the Forbes'. And then, they had the craziest night exploring each other's bodies, moaning when they were supposed to, saying the same words over and over again, knowing that by tomorrow, they would forget about each other.

But it would never be this easy when it comes to Caroline Forbes.

It was now Stefan's turn to pace. It set Damon's teeth on edge. Stefan did not care at all whether Jeremy was alright or not, he was just worrying about Elena who had went to the bathroom and told them to stay here. Damon's hands were shaking, but he would never leave Jeremy. Ever. And this thought spread wildfire into his heart. He stood up, and, just as he was going to knock the emergency room's door off, it burst open with the nurse coming closer to them. News! Answers! He was finally going to get him! But WAIT! Her face was grim! Her lips were pursed! What if he didn't make it? What if his only true shot at happiness and love was dead and gone?

"News?" Damon said as calmly as he could act on.

"The surgery's done," and the nurse's lips grew into a smile, "he's going to be okay!"

At this, Damon could've sworn all his happiness could destroy a whole building if it had a physical form. Jeremy was going to make it! His Jeremy is alive! Again, he continued making way towards the door that was separating him from his Jeremy. He got in and made his way towards the bed, where just a white sheet was laying on an unconscious Jeremy. He was so pale, Damon couldn't help but give a small gasp at this sight. There were a few stitches on the wounds he'd gotten on his face, but none of his other wounds were showing.

Damon grabbed a nearby chair – why was there a chair in the emergency room? – and sat, staring at Jeremy, while Stefan and Elena made their way in. A doctor arrived, and, giving them a few of the occurrences of the surgery, told them they had to leave the room because they were moving Jeremy towards another one. They complied and were now sitting around him, waiting for him to wake up, in one of the rooms. The stress was over now, but they all felt as though something was wrong. They all were afraid he would somehow have a heart attack and die.

They cursed the fact that they didn't just feed him vampire blood. It could have been easier and faster. But Jeremy was perhaps among the few who preferred the old school ways of getting cured.

It was at 3 AM when Elena fell asleep on Stefan's shoulder. "You can take her home, I can watch over him, you know," Damon said. His voice was so different. He was desperate. Truly desperate. This was something he was not used to. Stefan nodded and carried her out of the room. Damon felt, somehow, happy he was now alone with his lover. He felt it was an intimate moment, oddly enough.

"_The tightrope that I'm walking just sways and ties. The devil, as he's talking, with those angel's eyes. And I just wanna be there when the lightning strikes," _Damon sang. He remembered the lyrics of this Coldplay song he had heard and felt it really applied to him.

The sound of Damon's _singing _voice made Jeremy's eyebrows flutter. Damon heard Jeremy's heart-rate quicken. "Wha…What's happening?" Jeremy said slowly.

Damon perked up at Jeremy's sweet voice and stood up, getting even nearer to him. "I was so worried, Jeremy!" He took Jeremy's hand and kneeled on the ground, looking up at him. "I thought you would not make it." Damon's eyes were wet, as tears were very near to dripping down. Jeremy just looked at him confusedly. Again, a pang of guilt hit Damon hard in the chest, obviously Jeremy was not aware he had been under a knife and did not have any idea about what actually happened.

"Jeremy, you've been through surgery. Your injuries were just too deep and important to cure. We also could not help you with vampire blood as the effects would take too much time, and we can't use it to speed up the process since they're making you do blood test every hour." Jeremy listened to Damon speak without interrupting, then just shrugged.

"Don't shrug it off like that!" Damon said. "I swear, if it was possible for a vampire to do so, I'd have died of worry."

Jeremy met Damon's eyes expectantly. Their faces slowly found each other, and their lips met with a quiet shout of envy. Their tongues as usual fought for dominance, and Damon's hands were running through Jeremy's hair, when some buzzer went off and Damon quickly broke away from Jeremy. Two nurses came quickly inside the room, apparently not having witnessed the kiss, and went to Jeremy's aid. "He's awake, his heartbeat quickened. How are you feeling, hunny?" The ginger one said.

"Good. Very good, indeed," Jeremy replied, his eyes flickering towards Damon. They filled him up on all the boring info about the surgery and then went away, telling them to press on the button near them to call them.

"So, we wouldn't like to make them come here again, now, would we?" Damon said teasingly.

Jeremy sighed and squeezed himself more towards the edge of the bed, then, motioning Damon in, he said, "Get in."

Damon did not comment, and, taking off his shoes, he got in and wrapped his arms around his lover. "Jeremy?" Damon said softly.

"Yes, Damon?"

"I love you."

"I love you too, Damon."

Then they fell asleep in each other's arms, like any two perfectly normal couple would do.

But they were not a perfectly normal couple. Next day, Damon woke up pretty earlier then Jeremy to move away so that they didn't have to deal with awkward questions, just as he was sure Elena would be coming soon with his brother.

Just as he thought, as soon as the day started for humans, Elena came rushing in the room with Stefan slowly following her. "Oh, crap! He's still asleep."

"Hello to you too, Elena," Damon said.

Elena didn't even acknowledge Damon and sat in a chair near Jeremy. She laid her head next to his and sobbed. With a slight nod, Damon motioned Stefan outside. They closed the door behind them and Damon pinned Stefan with all his force on the wall. "What did you tell her?" He said menacingly.

"Everything," Stefan said in a mean way. "She deserves to know. He is her brother."

"And she will, as soon as he decides to tell her! Or isn't it his choice?" Damon said angrily, still not taking his hands off Stefan. "As soon as Jeremy and I got together, you have been nothing but a burden. You were always there to mess everything up and twist his mind's image of me into some kind of monster."

"But aren't you one? Or was it only an act? Was it only an act you kept going to hide your real true self, to hide the fact that you're a faggot! I knew it since we were young but never spoke of it. I kept watching you, that was all I did. But I know what you really are, and you are a fag." At this, Damon took Stefan by his collar and threw him all the way through the hall, out the window. He was furious. Hot fury was bursting in his veins and he even considered going to finish his job.

He got in the hospital room again. "What was that?" Elena said.

"So now you speak to me, right?" Damon said. He was so angry and furious, he felt betrayed and backstabbed. He felt as if the world was turning on him. There was only Jeremy left for him. Even his brother had given up on him.

Elena didn't answer because she knew he was right. Then, she turned around and faced him. "Why didn't you tell me? Why did you keep it a secret?"

"Because the secret wasn't mine to tell," Damon said, slowly emphasizing every word he said. "It is Jeremy's decision to tell you or not and I have no right to do so myself."

"It's true. I as waiting for a chance to tell you, Elena," came Jeremy's voice from the bed. Elena turned around and threw herself at him. "Oh my God Jeremy I don't care who you date, as long as you're safe! I was so worried, oh my God Jeremy!" And she hugged him.

"Elena… Didn't you see him at the party?"

"See who?"

"Max."

"Jeremy, you probably imagined this. You got hit in the head so hard!" Elena said, her voice slightly quivering.

"No. It's him. I'm sure."

A sound was then heard and Elena took out her cellphone, flipping it open and speaking into the speaker, "Yes, Caroline?"

"Caroline isn't quite available right now," said a husky male voice, "why don't you come here, on the Wickery Bridge, so that her life could be spared? You have one hour, talk to you later, sis." Then the line was cut off.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi everyone! I've been feeling like everyone has given up hope on this fic and I really hope that you're still reading, because some serious shit is about to happen! Your reviews keep me writing, don't be afraid to share your opinion! Cheers! x**

"_Caroline isn't quite available right now," said a husky male voice, "why don't you come here, on the Wickery Bridge, so that her life could be spared? You have one hour, talk to you later, sis." Then the line was cut off. _

Elena gasped and looked up at Damon. "What's wrong?" Jeremy asked her as he saw her look at Damon with wide eyes. Damon had obviously heard the whole thing with his vampire hearing. "What is it?"

"Someone has Caroline apparently." She moved up towards the door, probably to speak to Stefan who was nowhere to be seen... Probably on the first floor of the hospital, not wanting to face his much stronger brother. But Damon stood up and said, "Stay where you are. You can't go, whoever caught her is super human, obviously, and that person could easily hurt you."

"Damon, that someone apparently is my _brother_…"

"Oh, so you believe me now? The fact that I saw Max!" Jeremy said enthusiastically.

"Jer, you don't understand… if it really is Max, he's got Caroline." Elena said, an internal conflict now starting up inside her. She didn't know what she would do. It would probably come to a decision between Caroline and Max, and, even though she hadn't seen him for so long, he remains her brother…

Damon walked out of the hospital room, not looking back to see if Elena was even following. She kissed Jeremy good bye and told him that she would be back soon. He didn't reply, as he was very mad. She was going to see his brother, who by the way could probably get killed by Damon, and he was stuck here. Thousands of questions zoomed in and out of focus in his mind… Why did their brother come back? What did he want? Why was he threatening to kill Caroline?

Meanwhile Elena and Damon had filled Stefan in on the phone call, Elena doing most of the talking since Damon could only manage to swear, and they were on their way to Wickery Bridge. No one was there when they arrived. They remained in the car and just observed the scenery of trees and the river underneath the bridge, until Damon lost patience and got out of the car. Stefan followed him, Elena a few steps behind. Looking around, Damon didn't find anything suspicious. Expanding his Powers, he didn't even feel any presence at all, not even Caroline's. The enemy was good, if he was able to hide both his aura and Caroline's that way. A twig snapped and all three people looked ahead to see someone with striking blond hair and emerald eyes going towards them. They stopped when a reasonable amount of space was between them.

"Max…" said Elena. Stefan and Damon glared at the boy. He had caused their lovers so much pain, they couldn't help but have this reaction. The boy ignored them and just kept on looking at Elena.

"So I go away from you and Jer to spare you from twisting your life with vampires and suddenly, I find you with two."

"You're a vampire?" Elena said, a bit of hope disappearing on her face. Her brother was immortal. Max nodded. "Don't think I'm stupid. You were changed, obviously, not a long while ago, since your body is of a teen's."

"Yes," was all Max said.

"Then don't say that you were staying away from us just to protect us, since you weren't a vampire when you were kidnapped. What happened?"

"I was kept and abused. I was forced to work in places you wouldn't imagine, doing things illegal enough to get you in jail, and my captor only now decided, after milking every bit of work from me, to turn me. He's a vampire, but one much more dangerous than you two." He motioned towards Damon and Stefan who sneered at the mentions of them.

"I'm so sorry," said Elena, now taking one step closer. Stefan and Damon, out of pure protective habit, stepped closer too. "Where's Caroline?" she said as she remembered the only purpose she had come here in the first place for.

"She's at her home, no worries. No harm done. I met her, though. I didn't want to quite show up on your doorstep so that I wouldn't frighten you."

"Oh so you give me a phone call, hang up before I get to even talk to you, telling me that you're holding one of my best friends captive. How original of you," said Elena as she turned away and went towards the car, but as soon as she did, Max was standing right behind her and had caught her arm, spinning her facing him. Stefan and Damon immediately got into attack mode and pushed him away, Stefan holding Max off and Damon standing in front of Elena just in case. "What do you want?" shouted Elena, close in tears.

Damon could only imagine the impact Max had done on Elena. Her own long lost brother, coming back as a vampire and wanting truce. He found the situation very ironic as he and his brother had been through a very similar one, only they weren't separated much. And they still haven't really been back as brother and brother yet, Damon remembered. They were still on both sides of a very fragile glass that would break as soon as someone made a mistake, and Damon felt as if it was his job to make sure the glass got thicker and thicker and nothing could separate them.

But his brother had hurt him. Twice. Once when he had forced him into feeding and becoming a vampire, and the other time the instant he had called him a 'fag'. It left a hole in his heart that wouldn't ever be filled back because, really, it was his brother who said it. Not Elena, not some dude he would meet somewhere, but his own flesh and blood that said that. Stefan wasn't even quite forgiven for turning Damon against his will, so he wasn't really sure whether to forgive and forget. He was snapped back into reality when Max had tried to get past them a second time and he had to punch him hard. Even when they were fighting, the Salvatore brothers were fighting a common enemy, and they fought brilliantly.

Their bodies were in sync with what they were doing and while one punched, the other bent and tripped their victim. They made a strong team and always had each other's backs, even when they weren't completely in good vibes with each other.

"I just need to talk to you, Elena, I need to know what you're going through, what your life is like, get to know you! You're my sister, aren't you?" Max said. Something occurred to Damon. He got close to Max and looked him in the eyes.

"What did you come here for?" he said, looking deep in Max's eyes.

"To get to know Elena."

"Who turned you?" Damon said hopefully. And his plan seemed to work as Max's face got extremely confused. He didn't know what to say. "Forget it," Damon said again. He took out his phone, making sure Max could not see what he was typing, and typed a note saying, _He's been compelled._ Stefan read it and did not comment. He showed the text to Elena who understood and already started talking again. "You're right. We should get to know each other. How about we meet sometime in the Mystic Grill?"

Max smiled mischievously, as if he had actually trapped his sister. "Tomorrow, 7pm? Alone, perhaps?" he smiled again.

"No," said both Stefan and Damon.

"Oh, why? Wouldn't be too private with you two listening to our conversations."

"We'll listen to whatever we want to listen," said Stefan.

"Fine, fine, I won't push it." Max chuckled and turned away towards the trees.

"Where are you staying?" said a smirking Damon to confuse Max even more. If Max was really compelled, he wouldn't know how to answer such an off-topic question. Max just shrugged and disappeared into the night.

They were back to the hospital. Damon gave a quick peck on Jeremy's lips and they filled him in on everything. He didn't quite understand how they figured out that Max was compelled but finally did, and they were now discussing the fact that they were facing a bigger threat than a vampire. One, his aura was hidden. Two, someone had compelled him, and that someone probably is an Original, since no common vampire could compel another one.

Jeremy didn't feel as scared as he would usually. What he really cared about was the fact that his brother was here again. The others were now debating what would happen tomorrow, who would go, and how they were going to act.

"You guys seem to be forgetting something," said Jeremy. "It's my brother. You can't put up plans against him and use him as bait for the other fucking Original. You just… can't. He's compelled and doesn't know what he's doing."

"Yeah, we need to do some research about how to get rid of the compulsion on him… That could help us a lot," Damon intervened.

"Old vampire mythology can help us on this part," Stefan replied, not making eye-contact with his brother. "Even though vampire myths have nothing to do with us, the Originals represented in those myths are very similar to the real ones. So we're lucky."

"Great, then we have a lead," was what Elena said. She then looked at Jeremy, "When do you think you will be able to get out?"

"The hot nurse said I can leave today," said Jeremy jokingly. Damon grunted at this, and Jeremy barked out a laugh, "Just kidding." Damon blushed. _Blushed._

"TODAY?" shouted Elena, ignoring her brother's jokes. "HOW CAN SHE LET YOU OUT TODAY? YOU'RE INCREDIBLY HURT!"

"I'm fine, Elena, the nurse said I healed in a very unnatural way."

At this, both Elena and Stefan's heads shot out to look in Damon's direction. "What? I wanted to speed up the process," said a still joking Damon. They couldn't see any harm in what he'd done so they ignored him once again and turned to Jeremy.

"Come on, Jeremy, get dressed and let's check out," said Stefan. "The sooner we get out of here, the better."

"Well get out, then," said Jeremy, teasing as always. Elena and Stefan started heading out the door, until Elena turned and looked at Damon.

"Aren't you coming?" she asked him.

"I'm his boyfriend," was all Damon said. She nodded, clearly not used to this, but nevertheless got out of the hospital room, leaving Damon helping Jeremy up. Every time Jeremy reached to undress or made any effort, Damon slapped his hands away and did whatever the boy needed.

"The nurse said no intimacy, by the way," Jeremy said conversationally, not daring to look in Damon's eyes. "For ten days."

"Fine by me," Damon said, trying to sound as uninterested as he could. He was a great actor, but Jeremy knew him well.

"Of course it isn't. I know you, don't I?" said Jeremy, now looking deep in Damon's eyes. "I'll pleasure you some other way." He winked at Damon whose heart fluttered at the cutest sight. As he was reaching for the glass of water on his bedside table, his hand slightly shook for no reason. This did not go unnoticed and Damon pointed it out.

"It's nothing…" said Jeremy, sighing.

"I know you," was Damon's reply, just before he reached for the boy and their lips met. They hadn't kissed – _really _kissed – for so much time now. Finally, Damon pulled away and looked once again at Jeremy. "What is it?"

"I… I don't really know. I just feel so bad about Max, and dragging you all into our business, and the fact that he probably is plotting to kill you. I just feel like all these things are getting mixed up together, and they get so confusing. Why did he show up at my birthday, and why I had such a – " Damon cut him off by kissing him again. Jeremy's train of thoughts stopped and he felt he didn't care anymore. As long as Damon with him, it would be them against the world.

**Author's Note: Short chapter. Sorry. I felt like cutting it short that way because,**

**I'm feeling very bored.**

**I wanted the meeting to be held I the next chapter where many things will happen. **

**Again, sorry. Next chapter will be bigger and hopefully better. Please please please review. Please. Thanks!**


	8. Chapter 8

**It indeed has been a while. I'm sorry. I've gone through depression the passing months and didn't want it influencing my writing in any way. You guys deserve the best, and that's what I'll aim on giving you. Cheers, and enjoy. **

**PS: This will be the last chapter in The Pain of Yesterday, but worry not! There will be a sequel soon, called "Today is Recovery."**

"I've got a really bad feeling about this," said Stefan as Damon, Jeremy and Elena prepared to enter the Mystic Grill at 7:10pm.

"Don't you trust me, brother?" replied Damon, holding on to Jeremy's hand which was shaking, as warm as the weather was.

"I don't."

"Well too bad." And Damon, Jeremy and Elena walked into the restaurant, leaving Stefan in position, with Caroline positioned at the only other entrance of the restaurant, just in case. She had gracefully agreed to help them.

Damon scanned the sitting tables before spotting a tortured-looking Max sitting on one of them with scotch whiskey in a glass he had apparently forgotten about. As they slowly made to sit at that table, Max snapped back to reality and looked at them, counting them. For a moment there, Damon thought he had spotted a flash of violet in Max's eyes, but then it was gone and he shrugged it off.

"Isn't someone missing?" Max looked specifically at Damon who shrugged again. His eyes moved towards Jeremy, and now Damon was sure there was violet in his eyes; deep, pure violet. He got up and so did Jeremy, Damon's eyes attentively following them, and Jeremy hugged his long lost brother. Tears welled up in both guys' eyes and Jeremy sobbed into the brother he had always considered as his guardian angel's shoulder. Elena's eyes were cold.

They separated and sat around the table, Jeremy sitting once again near Damon who possessively put his arm around him, and Max across the table, facing his siblings.

"Elena," he looks at his sister he missed so much, "please understand that coming here was never an easy task. I had to run away. I am still under Master's control, and if he ever knows about my whereabouts, which won't take long, he will not be pleased at all. But I had to come; it's been so long. Please forgive me."

"Who is this Master you speak of, Max? Where did he take you? What did he do to you? We can help you if you let us." Elena's tough act was shattering, it was her own flesh she was talking to, it was that someone who she had thought was dead like her parents for most of her life, and now he was alive, breathing. And he was in front of her and indirectly asking for her help. How could she deny him that? Who knows about all the horrors he had probably been through all his life?

"Elena, it's not that easy. I can't say His name, because he has forbidden me. I can't tell you where he lives or where he's taken me or what he's done to me, because he had forbidden me to." Damon's eyes lit up. Perhaps the definition of "Master" they had understood wasn't very accurate. He sat up and came a bit closer, his voice slightly lower than usual.

"You're referring to a sexual master, aren't you?" He did not wait for confirmation, he looked at Jeremy and Elena's confused eyes and cursed his luck as he now had to explain to them what a sexual master was.

"A master related to sex is very similar to a real life master, but it just means that the slave must also serve his master in… um… sexual ways."

Jeremy understood it immediately, having read a very disturbing book that contained a master/slave relationship. Elena was confused as hell.

"You know… Umm…" Damon continued, not wanting to further disturb the teenage girl. "You know how, in every relationship, is someone who leads and controls it, in straight relationships, it's the guy; in gay relationships, it's usually the top. It really depends. So the Master is the dominant that controls and orders the slave, called Submissive, around."

When Elena finally grasped the concept, Jeremy spoke up. "How do you know so much about this, Damon?" Jeremy's mouth was forming a very crooked, teasing smile. He admitted to himself that he was very interested in that lifestyle.

Damon further blushed and looked at Jeremy's hands that were crossed on the table, not wanting to make eye-contact. "I had many friends in my youth that exercised it, and I once attended an event where all of them met, like in groups." He was very interested in that lifestyle as well but wouldn't want it to seem like it. "So Max, you're a Sub, right?"

"That is correct," answered Max. "I know I told you guys this was a meeting for me to get to know Elena and Jeremy more, but I believe it's the right time to show you all something."

"We haven't ordered anything yet," Jeremy remarked as he noticed the waiters staring at them. Max put two $100 bills on the table and stood up, going for the door. Jeremy's eyes widened.

Damon made for the door and asked Max to wait a minute before stepping out. He told Stefan and Caroline to join them and not to attack. When the whole group was out, they headed towards the woods by foot, no one saying a word, Stefan and Caroline in full awareness mode and Damon protectively wrapping his arms around his baby.

When they reached a place where the moonlight shone on the ground, Max held out his hand to stop the others. He stood under the light, the others looking at him, observing his every action and waiting for his action. He took his jacket off, then his very expensive-looking shirt. He nodded them over, and they all examined his chest and arms, full of scars, some still fresh.

"The abuse was before our Dom/Sub contract."

"Some scars are still fresh, Max," said Elena, choking down sobs.

"All the pain is for pleasure, Elena," was his only reply. He turned around and walked away from them; Stefan, Damon and Caroline all gasped while Elena and Jeremy didn't understand what made their friends do that. Max's back was strong and full of muscles, and there was only one very clear scar just above his waist. And then two vertical scarlet lines on his upper back were shown opening up and widening. And then something was coming out of the gaping scars. White, glorious wings were erect in front of them. The scars disappeared and only the wings were left. They were huge.

Max turned around, and now they all saw the beautiful violet color that embellished his eyes.

Surprisingly, Elena was first to recover from the shock. "What are you?"

"Master calls me White," was his answer that was pronounced as it was something obvious. Elena looked questioningly at Stefan, then at Damon, Jeremy and finally Caroline. No clue.

"Does your Master forbid you to answer everything a stranger asks?" Stefan said. He had jumped to the point, knowing it was exactly how he could get his answers. Max did not reply but a spark in his eyes indicated that Stefan had correctly assumed.

"Do you need somewhere to stay?" Jeremy questioned. Stefan and Damon looked at him like he was insane, Elena looked at him in an almost pitying way, and Caroline smiled. "You can answer, Max. You've already disobeyed your Master, it wouldn't matter if you answered this. We'll try to help you as much as we can."

"Yes."

Not able to turn back, they took Max to the Boarding House and gave him a room, securing it every way possible and adding loads of locks to it. They did not know what to do at this point, they had never seen such a creature. They could assume that he could was changed this way, that he needn't be born an "angel", as all had agreed to call his species. They now have been debating about different sources of information they could go to, people they might be able to ask…

Max was no help. The more they tried to force out of him the name or address or any information whatsoever about his master, the harder it was for them to be able to communicate. The more he was held captive, the angrier he got, and the more worried Jeremy had become that he might burst his huge wings and run away.

"He was sent with a purpose. If he does not accomplish it, his Master probably would hurt him intensely. Why do you think isn't he struggling to get out of here? How come he isn't at least trying to fulfill his Master's purpose? Don't you think it might be to stay here or keep us distracted?" Stefan thought out loud as he paced in front of the fire. Damon and Jeremy were curled up together on the couch while Elena and Caroline were unsuccessfully trying to talk to Max or get any information off him.

"A Dom, or Master as he likes to call him, might be greatly hurting him. Part of him wants to escape from his Master and doesn't want to be physically nor emotionally hurt or bound to him, while at the same time, he's afraid of the outcome. Can you imagine how painful his punishment could be?" Damon had sat up, a blush in his cheeks. The blush did not go unnoticed to Jeremy. Everyone was surprised that such a heart-felt statement could have been formed by careless-as-fuck Damon…

"I think I need some fresh air," said Jeremy as he got up and headed towards the door. As the cold wind hit his face, he ventured into the woods for a long walk. Birds everywhere and creatures of the night marked their presence, making such a peaceful atmosphere. Jeremy ended up settling for a big stone next to a small pond. He took advantage of the alone time to think… How come Damon knew so much about not only Dom/Sub relationships, but also about what Subs might feel? Had Damon been in such a relationship? Most importantly, though, did Damon somehow expect him to be in one? Was Jeremy's love not enough to satisfy the vampire's urges?

His mind wandered and his eyes settled on two golden ones glowing in the dark. Jeremy gasped and got up, tripping and falling behind because of the rock blocking his way. He landed on his back, his breath knocked out of him and his arm nearly ripped open. Less than five seconds later, Damon was with him, pulling him up and comforting him. "What happened? Are you okay? I didn't want to come out into the woods because I thought you'd want some alone time. God, Jeremy, can't I leave you alone for a minute? Is it still hurting?"

"Damon… there were eyes there, big gold eyes," Jeremy breathed out, but Damon had put him on his back and they were already on their way towards the house. Arriving there, Damon put Jeremy on the porch and wiped off the blood coming from his arm.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Damon looked worriedly in Jeremy's eyes. Jeremy just ignored the gold eyes because apparently, Damon wouldn't believe a word he said. They got up and Jeremy started heading towards the woods instead of the house, nodding Damon forward, so Damon followed him.

They walked for twenty minutes at least until they were far from home. Jeremy sat down and waited for Damon. Damon gracefully fell down onto the earth. "Damon… how come you know that much about all of this?" Jeremy hopelessly stuttered out, as he tried to control his shaking. It was freezing out there.

"Ah, I thought this would come…" Damon sighed, almost peacefully. His eyes changed, the look in them much softer. Fragility radiated out of them. "It happened when I was human." He takes a deep breath.

"At fifteen, I was reckless. Newly fond of my unlimited amount of money, I pretty much spent my time outside of the house. Needless to say, I hung out with the richest of people. Alcoholics, most of them, even though they were my age. It was unbelievably, but truly one of the best times of my life. Until came a night when I was out camping with them.

We all had those fancy tents, we didn't even share them. And then it happened." Another deep breath was taken. "I remember it like it was yesterday. At almost 3am, the oldest one of us.. a man called Kyle went into my tent. He carried me out of it while I was still asleep, and he took me far from the rest of the people there. I had slightly awakened in his arms, but I daren't react in fear of what he might do to me."

Damon took a little pause, adding a dramatic effect to the whole story. Jeremy already regretted opening it up, and felt ashamed of the spark of curiosity that was ignited in him. He wanted to know everything: every single detail of what had happened to his lover.

"He finally entered some kind of an abandoned building. Turns out, one of the apartments inside that building was far from "abandoned". He took me into a room rather weird-looking. When I realized that I had to run, when I realized what he was going to do… I came to my senses and flipped out of his hold. It was too late; the doors were locked, and he was huge. There was no way out. After running and running away from him, I got tired. He didn't.

He grabbed me and he tied me up on a bed, my ass exposed, I was vulnerable. And then, he raped me. During all of it, he slapped me, asked me who my "master" was, he tortured me, some things I can't even say out loud. It was painful, Jer…"

"Eventually, when he was done, he untied me from some kind of a machine and took me to another one. He put me in a bent down position and tied me up again. Then he mentioned something about Marking me… I was blindfolded, you see, so I was not ready for the white-hot blade he slowly dragged on my lower-back. And that's how I got that scar," Damon stood up and took off his shirt. The pale moonlight reflected off his smooth skin, he was not white nor was he tan, his skin was a perfect mix of the Sun and the Moon, of the hot and the cold. It was appealing to everyone, it was every daughter of Eve's darkest fantasy for him to hold dominion over her. His body was that which triggered every guy's jealousy.

Turning around, he came closer to Jeremy and Jeremy had to squint to be able to make out an extensive scar starting from his left hip to the right one under his pants. Jeremy was shocked he had never noticed it. "How come I've never seen this?"

"Because I didn't want you to."

"Why didn't you want me to?" Jeremy was now even more intrigued.

"The story's not one I enjoy sharing, Jeremy. Stefan only knows part of it, he has no clue just how much it affected me nor does he know who it was."

Jeremy got up and got closer to Damon. He wrapped his arms around him and pressed their bodies together, hugging bare-chested Damon as hard as he could. Jeremy then broke the hug and lightly kissed Damon on the cheek, his arms caressing the vampire's lower back, tracing the length of the scar. He trailed kisses down until reaching his neck, and he nuzzled his head in, breathing warmly into Damon's shoulder and giving him the warmth that both lovers craved.

Jeremy did not kiss down Damon's body, he did not do anything sexual with him; in that cold night, with the love of his life standing vulnerable in his arms, sex was the least of their worries; the sheer body contact they shared spread warmth and love in both of them. And Jeremy knew that if he could, he would spend the rest of his life like this.


End file.
